On February 9, India and Australia will begin their four-game Test series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. When the team hosts Pat Cummins and company, India will have the chance to go to the World Test Championship final. India may face the same opponent in the WTC final if they perform well, but if they don’t, their ambitions would be dashed. On the other hand, the visiting Australian team will also be under pressure because it is extremely difficult to defeat India in the longest format on that nation’s soil.
The visitors are making every effort to be as ready as they can be to meet the task while being wary of the possibility of spin against India. In preparation for the four-match Test series against India, the Australian squad is practicing on worn-out fields.
Former India batter Mohammad Kaif believes that the visiting side is panicking and that the announcement of an 18-member roster is evidence of this. This is despite the fact that the Pat Cummins-led team is continuing to prepare to put its best foot forward.
“Australia are travelling to India with 18 players. That, in itself, shows that they are panicking. They are in doubt. They haven’t toured India with 18 players ever. They know India are a strong team at home, it isn’t easy to beat them,” Kaif said in Hindi in a video posted by Star Sports.
“Virat Kohli wasn’t there at the Gabba, and he’s back in the team. Australia are a strong team, they are in form, but beating India in India isn’t easy at all. Can they bat? Can they see off (Ravichandran) Ashwin, (Ravindra) Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav? Only if they could tackle spin, it would be a good competition,” he added.
.@MohammadKaif talks about how, with #TeamIndia in great form, and the Aussies having an axe to grind, the #IndvAus Test series will truly be the clash of the titans!
Tune-in to Mastercard Cricket Live | Feb 9 | 8:30 AM onwards | Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar#BelieveInBlue pic.twitter.com/MHT90c7WJR
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 2, 2023